President Donald Trump has appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim administrator of NASA, handing the cabinet official dual responsibilities at a time of heightened political attention on the U.S. space agency. The decision, announced late Wednesday on Trump’s Truth Social account, installs Duffy in place of acting administrator Janet Petro while he continues to lead the Department of Transportation. A former Republican congressman and one-time reality-television personality, Duffy lacks a formal aerospace background but is a close political ally whom Trump praised for modernising air-traffic control and infrastructure. NASA has been without a Senate-confirmed chief since Trump withdrew the nomination of entrepreneur Jared Isaacman 39 days earlier amid concern over Isaacman’s ties to SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk. Administration officials have signalled that a permanent nominee may not reach the Senate until 2026, extending the agency’s leadership vacuum. Duffy assumes control as the White House seeks to shrink NASA’s budget by roughly 25% and trim the workforce by several thousand positions, according to TechCrunch and other publications. In accepting the role, Duffy wrote that he is “honored to accept this mission… Time to take over space,” while Trump said the appointment could be “only for a short period of time.”